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DONALD HEATH: Roy Simmons made mark
on Savannah

As a football star at Beach High School, offensive lineman Roy Simmons made blocks for others to move forward.

Simmons’ name returned to the forefront nationally when he died Feb. 20 at age 57. Twenty-two years ago, the Savannah native, then retired after four years in the NFL, announced on the television talk show “Donahue” that he was gay.

Only a few weeks ago, Southeastern Conference co-defensive player of the year, Michael Sam, a candidate for June’s NFL draft, also announced he is gay.

There’s an obvious parallel not missed by many.

But for Simmons’ friends and family, there’s a story that transcends football jerseys, a story about a person who continually had to lift himself up off the ground as frequently as he did from the sport he played.

“We often look at professional players in such high esteem,” said Simmons’ younger brother Gary. “As a football player, you’re supposed to be tough, but some people aren’t.”

There’s a difference between the toughness you need on the football field and the toughness that gets you through life. Roy Simmons’ athletic skills weren’t questioned. Nearly 25 years ago, he was voted into the Greater Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame. At 6-foot-3, 260 pounds, he stood out for Beach High in the mid-’70s, literally and physically.

Georgia Tech wanted Simmons, and then-Yellow Jackets coach Pepper Rodgers came to Savannah to help seal the deal.

After starring four years at Tech, Simmons was drafted in the eighth round by the New York Giants in 1979.

But the Giants weren’t getting the typical testosterone-filled athlete. Simmons was a sensitive kid who earned the nickname “Sugar Bear” in college.

“He was always laughing, always smiling,” said Beach High class president Thomas Jones. “Everyone liked him. On his Facebook page, someone wrote, ‘I was one of the small kids in school, but Roy protected me from the kids who tried to beat me up.’”

At Beach, Simmons wasn’t only the captain of the football team, he was also the class vice president. He was a member of the nutrition council and joined the history club and the Future Homemakers of America, Jones said.

“He wasn’t a big, dumb jock. He wasn’t just being passed through school because he played on the football team,” Jones said. “He was conscientious and worked hard in school.”

Dark times

Simmons grew up among six siblings (five boys and a girl) and a single-parent mother in the Cuyler/Brownsville area near Burroughs and 41st streets.

The family struggled financially, and Norma, his mother, tried to make ends meet by cleaning houses, Gary Simmons said.

It was hard times, and Roy’s life became unhinged after being raped in the neighborhood at the age of 10, Gary said.

“That event stayed with him and ate him up,” Gary said. “It was something we never talked about because he would have to relive it.”

Gary, 15 years younger, surmises the assault stayed pent up in Roy, eventually contributing to Roy’s alcohol and drug use later as an adult.

Eventually, Roy chose an alternative lifestyle and documented his life in the 2006 book, “Out of Bounds: Coming Out of Sexual Abuse, Addiction and My Life of Lies in the NFL Closet.”

The out-of-control lifestyle took its toll. Simmons’ football career ended after just four years. Simmons learned he had HIV in 1997 and eventually died alone in the Bronx from complications related to pneumonia, according to an article in the New York Times.

It was a side of his brother Gary never saw despite living with Roy and another brother in the New York metropolitan area from the ages 10 to 12.

“Sometimes he made us breakfast before going off to practice,” Gary said. “Players would come over, but he never had us around any parties.”

Gary said he was surprised when Roy made the disclosure of being gay.

“I thought, ‘What are you talking about?’” Gary said. “I had seen him with women. I thought he was lying. ... Drugs, homosexuality, HIV, it was like a script for a movie.

“People say they accept alternative lifestyles, but they don’t really accept it. Particularly at that time. When Roy came out of the closet, there wasn’t a round of applause. .. When I heard he had AIDs, I cried for a week. I wish I could have done more for him.”

Gary sees a bigger picture — a big brother who made a positive impact on many people, sometimes through sports. Sometimes just through a big smile.

On Saturday, Roy Simmons will be buried in Savannah next to his mother.

“We’re a Savannah family,” Gary Simmons said. “This is where Roy would want to be, even if he had to be carried back here.”

According to the Families First Funeral care website, visitation will be held from 6-9 p.m. Friday at Bonaventure Funeral Home. The funeral service is 11 a.m. Saturday at First Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, with burial at Hillcrest Abbey Memorial Park, West.

Donations can be made at http://gfwd.at/1lnxBAd.

Donald Heath is a sportswriter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at 912-652-0353, email him at donald.heath@savannahnow.com and follow him on Twitter @DonaldHeathSMN.